Thursday, January 17, 2013

Boy, 12, accidentally hanged himself 'as he tried to play practical joke on his mother' who couldn't reach up from her wheelchair to help him

A 'happy' schoolboy who accidentally
hanged himself with his coat may have been trying to play a joke on his
mother, an inquest heard today.Marlowe
Isaac Myers, 12, was found dangling from a kitchen coat hook with the
zip of his fastened jacket compressing the front of his neck.His
disabled mother Nicki Myers, 39, desperately tried to cut him down with
a kitchen knife but was unable to reach from her wheelchair and had to
fetch a larger knife while he continued to choke.Paramedics
were called and battled to save the life of the schoolboy, known as
Isaac, but he was declared dead at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge.Coroner
David Morris ruled out suicide during the inquest at Lawrence Court,
Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, and instead said that he feared that the
well-known prankster had accidentally killed himself in a joke gone
wrong.The court heard that
police officers investigating Isaac's death found a chair beside the
coat hook, perhaps suggesting that he could have intended to wear his
coat while it was still on the hook.Mr Morris said: 'I can’t be satisfied that Marlowe, who was known to those who loved him as Isaac, took his own life.'We
cannot rule out that the little boy may have been playing a prank on
his mother, which he often did, or simply experimenting and playing with
the jacket.'We have heard
no evidence that he was an unhappy child or that he was being bullied at
school. Therefore suicide has to be ruled out.'It
is not a verdict of accidental death as he did something deliberately,
but tragically didn’t realise the weight of his actions.'

Isaac had returned to his Cambridge home following his first day of school on September 4 last year.He
had told his mother about his day before the pair had dinner together
at around 7.30pm before Ms Myers went upstairs for a rest leaving her
son playing computer games.She came back down to feed her cats at around 9pm and found Isaac hanging from the hood of his black leather jacket.

'Isaac was an extremely intelligent and gifted child. He was such a compassionate boy.'Nicki Myers

Ms Myers - an amateur artist who is paralysed down one side of her body - attempted to cut her son down but had to fetch a bigger knife as she was unable to reach from her wheelchair.She desperately tried to revive her son to no avail.A post mortem found that he died from asphyxiation.Detective
inspector Laura Koscikiewicz of Cambridgeshire Police told the inquest
that Isaac, who lived with his two brothers, was doing well at school
and that he was a 'happy boy'.She said: 'We spoke to the school and they said Marlowe had a small number of friends but was a happy boy.'He was doing well at school but there was an issue with attendance. There had been nothing unusual in his behaviour that day.'He would often suffer from asthma flare-ups which would affect his sleep patterns.'Prior to the accident Marlowe had been on holiday in France with his father but had returned for the first days of school.'His brother Caleb had remained abroad.

Intelligent: Isaac was 'intelligent and gifted' and loved animals according to his mother Nicki

'On September 3 he told his mum he was
worried about not having enough friends at school but when he returned
the next day he’d had a good day.'He was looking forward to playing in the football team.'Nicki Myers personal assistant was in the home between 4.30pm and 7pm which was usual practice.'After
she left the pair had dinner before Mrs Myers had gone upstairs to
rest. At approximately 9pm she found her son in the kitchen.'There
was no rope, and the police at the scene believed there was no intent
to take his own life but that he had become attached.'The coroner recorded a verdict of death by misadventure.After the inquest, Ms Myers paid tribute to her son.She said: 'I don’t really know how to feel about the inquest it just bring' everything back.'Its an exceptionally sad time, now I suppose we can draw a line under it.”'Isaac was an extremely intelligent and gifted child. He was such a compassionate boy.'He loved his animals and was so kind.'He helped me even though I have carers to do that, and didn’t want the boys to do anything for me.'I gave him CPR and then paramedics and a doctor arrived.'They tried so hard for over an hour to revive him but it was too late. They did their best.'We had just spent a week together alone.'We had such a lovely time together, just the two of us, and I was able to give him my full attention.'I will treasure that week for the rest of my life.'